


relieved of duty

by kakashienthusiast



Category: Naruto
Genre: ANBU era, Drinking, Hatake Kakashi-centric, also drug use if smoking weed counts, its not especially obvious Romance but i wrote it with kakayama in my heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 15:54:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15585396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kakashienthusiast/pseuds/kakashienthusiast
Summary: ive been thinking about kakashi leaving anbu and what that meant for him and also how sad it is that he and tenzo  were like finally old enough to get drunk and be dumb together right as he was leaving.must suck to get pulled off the elite shinobi squad to teach some kiddos just cuz u were too sad all the time, huh?





	relieved of duty

    ANBU get summoned to meet with the Hokage regularly, it’s part of the job description. It’s even more normal for the captain of a team that’s just returned from a mission. That’s why Kakashi was so caught off guard when he stepped into the Hokage’s office and was invited on a walk.

    “It’s a lovely day and I could use the fresh air, would you mind?” Hiruzen had asked him. Mission debriefs didn’t happen outdoors. There was always someone listening, even in Konoha, even with the Hokage. The invitation itself indicated that this was an out of the ordinary summons.

    “How long have you been in ANBU now?” he had asked.

    “Ten years.”

    “You know, Minato originally assigned you to ANBU to help you work through the losses you’ve had. He wanted to keep you close to him.”

    “I assumed that was the case.” Minato had never said as much outright, but Kakashi was pretty good at inferring the truth, even when it was his teacher.

    “After his death, I returned to my role as Hokage, which included his ANBU.” A nervous knot had started to form in Kakashi’s stomach. Sandaime liked to tell stories, but usually they still served a purpose. A story starting this far back in the past felt like lead up to something important. “But keeping you by my side now is not going to help you. In fact, I think it’ll do more harm than good now.” _There it is._ “Take off the mask.” He did. “Ten years…” he said, with a soft mournful look in his eyes. Kakashi hated it. “Perhaps I’ve asked too much of you already.” _You haven’t. I’m fine. I can still do this._ But Hiruzen’s hands reached for the mask in his hands and Kakashi handed it over without a word. He barely saw Hiruzen throw it, but the shatter of porcelain on stone was unmistakable. “I hereby relieve you of your ANBU duties.” _Obviously._ “You will be a jonin teacher now.”

“Understood.” The firm acknowledgement came out of habit, more than a true conviction. The leaving ANBU part was unmistakable, judging from the porcelain shards a few yards away, but had Kakashi really heard the last bit right? It was too late to ask though. Hiruzen was already walking away, leaving Kakashi to process the change that had been dropped on him.

\--

    When Kakashi woke up, the sun was already mostly set. The branch he’d settled down in was also far less comfortable than it had seemed when he’d first sat down. He winced and stretched. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but even dizzying life choices sometimes had to come second to the exhaustion of a month-long mission. _A mission that the team will be celebrating the end of…_ He glanced towards the sunset to check the time. _Right about now… at least they’ll be drinking._ He leapt down from the branch and walked in the direction of the bar they’d selected.

\--

    “Another round? It’s on me.” Yugao had once again managed to drink circles around her younger teammates.

    “I’m good.” Kakashi waved a hand at her and glanced at Tenzo, who seemed just as ready to conclude his night, if not moreso. “You ready to call it a night too, Tenzo?” Tenzo nodded.

    “You two are such lightweights for being some of the best shinobi in ANBU, you know that?” Yugao teased.

    “Some of? You should have more respect for your captain.”

    “I’ll respect my captain more when he can keep up with the drinks.”

    “I’m only twenty three, you have YEARS of drinking experience on me, and even more on poor Tenzo here.” This was true. Yugao was technically at least ten years his senior.

    “Would’ve thought the Hatake genius could’ve figured it out by now!”

    “Good night, Yugao.” he said, with just enough firmness to get across that he really did want to leave. Maybe a little bit more for Tenzo’s sake than his own. He’d been pretty quiet for a while now, a clear sign he had had enough. As they stepped out into the night air, he opened up a bit.

    “Your place or mine? I seriously need at least four glasses of water. And a bowl.” He was grinning, relaxed now that their environment had quieted down.

    “Sounds like yours, then.” It was Tenzo that had the real penchant for smoking, Kakashi mostly mooched.

    “I’m shocked.” He wasn’t. “How much do you think you owe me now for the sheer volume of weed I’ve shared with you?”

    “None! I pay you back by providing company.” He did. Tenzo still sighed and rolled his eyes.

    “It’s not admirable to lie, Kakashi. You’re terrible company.”

    “Please, you’d miss me if I weren’t here.” It was at this exact moment that Kakashi remembered why he’d been so ready to go out drinking in the first place. He let Tenzo talk the rest of the way back.

\--

    “You should drink some water, too. Don’t get so cocky, you’re hellish when you’re hungover.” Tenzo was holding out a glass of water, having already downed a couple himself already. Kakashi took it and sipped, still wondering how he was going to break the news. Really, he wanted to say nothing at all. It’d be nice to just disappear from ANBU without a word and never see any of his teammates again, but that was neither realistic nor fair to Tenzo, who’d done nothing to deserve that kind of coldness. Tenzo maybe understood him better than anyone else, he had nothing to gain by severing that connection. Even if it’d be so much easier to say nothing. Tenzo was a friend.

    Tenzo was a friend who was currently holding out a freshly packed bowl. Kakashi took it, lighting it with a simple spark of chakra. Sometimes he wondered if he might not get just as much mileage out of just doing some deep breathing exercises rather than going to all the trouble of smoking, but tonight he was grateful for the additional excuse to say something dumb.

    “Sandaime-sama has asked me to leave ANBU.” The words left his mouth in a hurry, before he could change his mind. Tenzo paused mid-hit.

    “He what?”

    “I know.” Kakashi sighed. “He says it’s supposed to be good for me. That ANBU’s been too hard on me.” He took on the stately, dramatic voice the Hokage spoke with. “Kakashi, I know this might come as a shock, but you’ll be surprised by how much teaching can change your outlook on life.”

    “Teaching?” Tenzo looked shocked. “You’re leaving ANBU to–”

    “Yup. Genin babysitting.”

    “That’s fucked.” Tenzo paused to think through the implications before continuing to argue against it. “You’re one of the best we have! And why would he disrupt our team like that? It’s bad enough to lose a member at all, but losing our captain? And to keep an eye on genin? What is he thinking?” Kakashi shrugged.

    “I know! I carry the whole team, what are you gonna do without me?” He was kidding, trying to joke to keep the weight of the truth from overwhelming the moment.

    “Shut up.” Tenzo laughed. “But seriously, there’s nothing you can do?”

    “He seemed pretty dead set. He had a whole strategic rationale for it and everything. At this point I’d be asking him to knowingly do the wrong thing for the village, at least in his eyes.” That was comforting actually. He’d done plenty of things that sucked for the sake of the village, maybe he could rationalize this particular thing in the same way. “Anyways, the team will be fine. You have nearly as much experience as I do, so you’ll probably end up captain. I’m not worried about it.” Despite the heavy moment, Tenzo’s eyes shone at the praise.

    “Captain, huh?”

    “Not feeling ready to be Tenzo-taicho?”

    “No more ready than you are to be Kakashi-sensei.” Kakashi winced. “Sorry, too soon.” Kakashi flopped over on the couch hopelessly.

    “At least you’ll make a good captain. Of all the things to pull me out of ANBU for, teaching?” He sighed deeply, staring blankly at the ceiling. “I don’t want kids seeing me as some kinda role model, y’know? It’s not good for my image.” The sardonic jokes wouldn’t have fooled anyone, least of all Tenzo, but it was a little easier to joke about his shitty reputation than his future in the moment.

    “I think you’ll be fine at it. Your heart’s in the right place, the rest will work out. You’re good at figuring stuff out on the fly anyways.” Kakashi looked over at Tenzo, half expecting him to be laughing at how unrealistic the claim was, but his face looked sincere. He really meant it. 

    “Thanks, Tenz.” Kakashi’s gratitude was probably muted by the quiet terror of his reality, but he hoped it still came across. Still, he had a hard time finding something snarky to add and they both fell silent for a bit.

    “We’re gonna miss you, y’know? I’m gonna miss you.” Tenzo broke the silence again.

    “I know.” Kakashi wasn’t sure what else he could say. He left the ball in Tenzo’s court again.

    “I can’t believe you’re leaving me in charge of the team to go fuck around with some genin. How do you always manage leave me with all the responsibility and get off easy?” This time, Tenzo was teasing. Kakashi was grateful for the chance to jump to a lighter pace of conversation.

    “That’s why I’m so sure you’ll make a great captain!”

    “You’re the worst. I take it back, none of us will miss you in the slightest.” Kakashi threw a pillow at his face, catching him off-guard and smacking him squarely in the face.

    “A captain needs to be ready for anything, Tenzo.”

    “Shut the fuck up.” Tenzo threw the pillow back at him, but lacked the element of surprise Kakashi had.

    “Pass that pipe?” Kakashi held his hand out expectantly.

    “You really are the worst, you know that?” Tenzo sighed, but handed it over.

    “You sure do put up with it though, huh?”

**Author's Note:**

> i would like to add another chapter to talk through the original motivation for this which was my hc that kakashi's anbu team is the one who gives him the dumb jiraya books but this is as far as i got tonight sorry


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